Update: Number of JASDF scrambles in FY 2018 second highest on record, says MoD

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) scrambled its fighter aircraft 999 times in fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018) in response to foreign military aircraft approaching the country's airspace: the second-highest total recorded in a year since such operations began in 1958.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Tokyo said in a statement on 12 April that the overall number of scrambles was up by 95 from the previous fiscal year but emphasised that no aircraft violated Japanese airspace.

The largest number of scrambles carried out by the JASDF within a year since was in FY 2016 (1,168) amid tensions between Japan and neighbouring countries such as China and Russia over territorial disputes.

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